Fabric-measuring machine



Aug. 21, 1923. A 1,465,322

D. TURNER FABRIC `VMEASURIENG MACHINE y Filed Dec. 11, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W, MMM

D. TURNER FABRIC MEASURING MACHINE Aug; 21, 1923.

Filed Dec'. ll 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,am .m 555" Patented Aug. 21, 1923. Y'

n' i i DOUGLAS ,.frUnNnn, -erlfslr. Louisf iaissoUiin-Assronon 'ro Yzur,asuniicinarn, y,

colare'Nin-1oi?` ST. 'LoUisVieis i.i i',.e oonronarronor DELAWARE.

Ainiiaijuidivinasiisiiici iaricninn;

To' all whom it mayzconoem:

Be it known Athat l, DOUGLAS TURNER-,fa

citizen 'oit the UnitedStates, residing at St:

Louis, State. or' .Missourn have invented cer! tain new and useful Improvements i-nl*`ab'riey MeasuringMachines, ot which the following is a specification.

measuring of remnants.V ln suoli machines the fabricis drawn between afpair or" rollers, the rotation kor which furnishes `an indication oit the length of thef abricpassing Vafgi'veii point. This point is usually inthe plane ot.

the cutting knife, and necessarily to one side of the line of contact' with the two rollers. Since the measurement begins and ends at or near the knife the last portion ofthe reni,-

nant,`that is the portion extending 'from the knife to the end of the remnant, which is just leaving the rollers, is'not measured, as the rollers stop turning as soon as the fabric is drawn through them. Therefore it is necessary to add to the reading anamount equalto thedistance from `the rollers to ,the knife,

in order toobtain the length of the remnant. :In a prior application Patent No. 1,392,723, Oct.

an accurate indication 'of it, 1921,this result isattained by depressing a buttony which 'ad-A vances the length lindicator the desired amount. In the embodiment of the inven-` tion shown herein the scale over which the indicating handsweeps is moved to increase the reading, Vthis `adjustment taking Vplace without disturbingthe connections between the measuring roll and the indicating ian'ds. The objects of the invention are .to vprovide means for making this adjustment g'toprovide mechanism which will minimize the danger of error arising out oan improper;op`cra tion oft the machine; and to aily improved' construction'.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of themachinc Fi 2 is a side elevation thereof,

provide a gener.-

I Fig. 13 isa-'top vview ot the machine with the case and dial removed;

Fig. i is a am eievanonjuiereefj I y Fig.` 'is a side elevation oit-he rearjpart 4olf thermachine` viewed from theiight side, the

. Y case'being shown in section.; and

dy inyention relates'to improvements in' Ser; No. 312,239,

11, 19,12. Serial Njo. 344,006.

. Fig. isa plan view' of the presser rollend'- vention assumes in practice, is vmounted"on a and is Vyinclose'd by fa case 2 having a' rectangular riront portion and'a cylindrical Said "ease has a' horizontal basel,

rear portion. Y opening therein in the front part, which permits-the ,insertion vor" the'f goods whenel measurement is to beinade.v Af vertical' plate t is mounted on the lbase plate and supports most oi? tlie-`mechanism inthe case. The measuring roll 5 is supported byv'lsaid plate,

and is preferably oneeig-hth 'of a yard incir-A ciim'ference. it is positioned withits upper surface in the plane of the-:opening in checas-Y ingk to permit contact'wit'h the goods to' f be measured. A presser roller Bois-arranged above gthe `ineasuring 4roll "and parallel there? to. To begin a measurement this roll is lower'edagainsftthe goods, which is held between the two rollersly As' Ytheop'ertorI pulls the goods between the rolls the ro-V tation of the :lower rollgis communicated to length-indicating andv price-indicating de# vices.` At the endof the measurement, in

oase the piece of goods is longer than whatV isrequired, theedge of the goodsis'kcut'by means of an upper knife blade? and a lower shear plate 8, saidv knife bladebegingloperated by notching button 9.

In order to buril g the rolls -together in beginning inea. ureinent, the voperator pressesinwardly a starting bi'itton` 1Q. (Figs. 2 and 6)', said. buttony forming part of abll.' crank lever ll', pivoted Vat l2 to the The bell crank lever is held in normal position bya spnng'flf. which rtends `to'hold the shoulderv lagainst the projection 1650i tl'iefro'ckcr shaft 117. The presser roller 6 is L rotatably mounted vonf'a shaft 18 attached to frictioiially" bracket.

an arm 19 on the rockerr shalt'said shaft;

being rotatably mounted on pins 2O mounted in a vframe plate 2l `and in the platev 4f. Springs 22Figll 6 tendfto move saidvpresser Yroll downwardly against the measuring roll,

saidpresser roll, however, bcing'loeked in` upper 'position by said parts land 16. The construction' and mode of operation of this prY roller lrocker shaft are fully-illus. Vtratedfin my Patent No. 1,421,863; granted J'u'lyeifl922. lVhen the Operator vpresses the starting button 10, however, said presser roll is released. then the operator presses the notching button 9 at the end of the measuring operation an integral extension thereon-not shownengages the arm 16, pressing the same against the action of springs 22 and raising the upper roll 6. During this movement the shoulder l5 snaps over the arm 16, thereby locking the upper roll in elevated position.

Motion .is transmitted from the measuring roll v5 through a train oi' gears, which comprises-gear 23, mounted upon the measuring roll shatt 24, meshing with the gear 25, which rotatably mounted on a bushing on the shaft 26. A pinion 27 meshes with a gear 28, attached to bushing 29, which is rotatably mounted on the shatt 30see Figs. 4 and 5. Y A. bevel gear 3l is also mounted on said sha'l't and meshes with a bevelv gear 32 mounted on a vertical sleeve 33, to which the longer hand. 34 is secured. This hand sweeps over the dial and indicates fractions of a yard. The train ot gears also includes a clutch mechanism, indicated generally by reference i5 (see Fig. At the end of the measuring operation, when it is desired to reset the mechanism'to'zero position, the resetting button 36 is depressed. This button projects slightly from the rear of the machine and, when actuated, moves the bar 37 inwardly, moving the shalit 26 longitudinally and releasing` the clutch members, thereby disconnecting the measuring roll .from the gear train. VSaid gear train also includes a reduction gearing, shown generally by reference 3S Fig. 4, which gives a l2 to l reduc- `tion between'the inch hand or fraction. hand 34 and the yard hand 45. Motion is also transmitted by the gearv 39 on shaft 30 through the idler 40 to the gears 41 and 42 which turn the chart cylinders 43 and 44. This mechanism alsoy includes a return chart cylinder roll having a spring therein, the

tension of which is increased when the measurement is being made, and which unwinds when released to restore the charts to initial position. This chart mechanism is .illustrated in partherein, but -liorms no part oi" kthe present invention per se, and is more l'ully illustrated in other earlier applications. These charts, as will be understood, carry computations representing the prices ot goods and are advanced past sight openings in the rectangular portion oit the casing in synchronism with the hands-see Fig. l;

The remnant button mechanism includes a shelf plate 46 horizontally disposed at the top of the plate 4 under the hands. This shelf carries a bearing 4S. The dial 49 is attached to a second plate 56 by means ot a ring 5l,

i the plate 5() having attached thereto-and being sup]')orted on a hollow bushing 52'10- tatably mounted in the bearing 4S. A horizontally arranged arm is also attached t0 the bushing 52. lVith this arrangement the dial 49 can be rotated about its axis by moving the arm 53. A vertical stem 54 carries the remnant button 55, and is slidably mounted in the plate 46 and the sub-base 56. The lever 57 has three arms, as shown in Fig. 5, and is mounted on a stud 58 attached to the bracket 59. One of said arms is attached to the vertical stem 54 by means of a screw 60. Another` is attached to the locking bar 61 by means of rivet 62, said locking bar being slidably mounted in a bracket 63 attached to the'vertical plate 4, and havingi a notch 64. This mechanism. also includes an auxiliary horizontally disposed sha-tt 65 carried by bracket 66 attached to 'said subbase. Said shaft carries at one end a vertical arm 67 and a depending arm 68 near the middle thereof. A spring 69 draws the dependingv arm 68 to the right, in position to be engaged by a stud 7 0 on the resetting bar' 37. A second locking bar 71 carries a pin 72, which is held against the vertical shaft 54 by said spring.

When it is desired to measure a remn;x on` the machine the starting button 3.0 pushed inwardly, lowering the upper rol1 fr against the goods, which is also in contact with the measuring roll. The remnant button 55 is then depressed, lowering the stem 54 sufiiciently to bring the notch 'T3 omiositc the'pin 72. This allows the bar 7l. to be moved to the lett by the spring 69, causing the` pin 72 to enter Vthe notch 73, and thereb-,v hold the remnant button in depriY o .d position, with the arm 68 in contact with the pin 70. Depressing the remnant button swings the arm 57 to the right through a small angle su'fiicient to swing the arm 5f) and rotate the dial under the hands 54 and 45. thereby increasing the reading. The amount of the increase for the longer hand, which measures inches, is proportional to the distance from the contact line ot the rollen:` to the edge ot the shears. This increases the reading to compensate tor what would otherwise be an error. `While the .reading el" the short, or yard, hand is also modified somewhat, the operator takes ne account ot this changed reading, which amounts only to a. small fraction of a yard. The dial refmains in this adjusted position until the resetting button 36 is pressed inwardly, moving the bar-37 and pin. 70 to the lett and. through the levers 67 and 66 withdr" the pin 72 .from the notch 73 and permittu the spring 74 to restore the remnant buttonA to its original position.

In order to prevent an .inexperienced or dishonest operator from getting an incorrect measurement by pressing the remnant button and increasing the dial reading. when the piece measured is .not a remnant, th!` following mechanism is provided: The rocker shaft 17 (Fig. 6) carries a vertical arm 76. A pin 7 7 secures the upper end ot shear blade housing.

said arm to a diagonally arranged locking bar 78, Fig. 4, said bar sliding in a guide 791 mounted on the vertical plate 4. This 'bar yhas a Vnotch arranged to' cooperate with `ment of the latter. lVhen said presser'roll?V is raised the notch is removed from the path of the bar 6l, and said bar fills the notch 64 on said bar, thus preventing the depression of the remnant button, and the consequent increase in the reading.

VIt is also advantageous to lock the knife or shear against Vroperation when remnants are being measured, as said knife is not required under these conditions. This is accomplished by an arm 82 mounted on a horizontal shaft 8f3-see Figs. 4 and 5,--and having' its end received within anotch in the remnant button stem. Said horizontal shaft Vcarries at its right Vhand end a locking pawl S4, which is mounted to cooperate with aiiotch in the back of the normally in uppermostposition by means of a spring (not shown), but when the reIn- I nant button isdepressed saidY locking awl is arranged vto enter the Vnotch 85, there y preventing operation lof the shear., blade. If the operator should depress the remnant but- .tonwhen measuring goods off the bolt, and

thereafter attempt to cut'the goods, the shears would be locked, and it would be necessary to release the remnant button, -i. e. to reset the machine and remeasure the goods before she can notch them. It will be noted that the remnant button is locked when the `presser roll is raised. This compels the operator to lower the presser roll before the remnant button can be operated.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the remnant button can be depressed either during or after the measur- V ing operation, but not before, because prior thereto the upper roll is in raised position and the remnant button is locked against operation by the notch 8O inthe bar 78. If the remnant button is depressed during or after the measuring of a remnant, the dia-l is adjusted to provide for an additional reading of one inch. However, ifV the operator at-V tempts to use the shear beforeresetting the machine to Zero, said operation .willv be prevented by means of the pawl V84.n In'orden to raise the upper rollte have the machine ready for the next measuring operation, the.

resetting button 36 must necessarily be pressed, thereby releasing the remnant button device, and the shear aswell, and pen niitting it to be used for raising the upper roll in the usual manner.

The machine may also be provided with aV sight opening, through which the lword Remnant, Vor other indication, may VbeA Said shear is held' brought' into the-view ofthe operator when Y i theremnant'button is depressed. Such a de.-

' vice is disclosed in theearlier application re-Y ferred to herein. v

- I-n using thel machineone end of therein.

nant is held between the rolls, the operator grasping one Aedge of the remnant with the l tliumbagainst thesetting button l0, which is` thereupon pressed inwardly, lowering the upper roller to clamp the goods between both rollers, the remnant button being then depressed Vand the goodsdrawn through the machine. The operator then takes thereading and presses the re-setting button. Y p

If the operatoris not measuring a rem nant, the goods are inserted in the same way as that describedab'ove, buty the remnant button wouldnot be depressed.A The machine would then give a correct Vmeasurementfo'r measuring from aroll.

completely 'l After the reading has been taken fromV the 'Y indicating mechanism, thenthe pressing of Y.theY resetting button will open the clutchi mechanism 35 and theV indicating mechanism will .thenfbeautomatically reset to zero.

If the remnant button has been' pressed and A Y the piece being measured is'not a remnant, then the rock shaft `83 will operate through the arm S4 to lock the knife so that the knife cannot be operated'. lThefailure of the knife to operate would indicate to the operator that he should notrhave pushedthe remnant button, and yhe will correct his reading 'of the instrument accordingly.

The invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed herein, as

said invention may be embodied in various y other forms falling within the scope of the appended claims.

. I claim Y 1. In arfabric measuring machine, a meas uring roll, a relatively movable hand and scale for indicating lengths, ymeans connecting one of said parts with said measuring roll, and means for moving said scale to* modify said lengtli'reading a predetermined amount.

' 2. In a fabric'measuring machine, a ineas- 3. In a fabric measuring machine, a measi ies llO

uring roll, means adjacent thereto for marking the goods being measured, a hand and dial, mechanical connections between said hand andsaid roll, and manually operable means for moving said dial an amount proportional of the distance from said roll to said marking means. Y f 4. In a fabric measuringm Y 'rolls between which the goods to be measured Y is passed,` a Vhand and dialY for indicating achine, apair of lengths, mechanical connections between said hand and one of Said rolls, means for Separating Said rolls, a remnant button connected With said dial to move the latter, and means Il locking Said remnant button in inoperative position when said rolls are separated.

5. In a fabric measuring machine, a pair of rolls, a shear, means for separating Said rolls, a. hand connected to one of said rolls, a dial associated With Said hand, a manually operable device for moving said dial, and means cooperating with said manually operable device and said shear, whereby the latter may be locked by the former to prevent Operation thereof,

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

DOUGLAS TURNER. 

